Some Thoughts on A Speech in Cairo

If only...

If only this extension of the arm of peace rather than the arm of war can take hold.

I admire and respect our president, although I will emphasize I am not naive enough to think he does not have as many flaws as you or I. I am not a blind follower. But I have to have hope. By leaping on every perceived flaw, a far-reaching disservice is being done to our head of state and to the world perception of the United States.

Flaws, criticism, politics, rhetoric and ideology aside, I believe President Obama is doing what he can to make the slimmest of beginnings in restoring our national honor in the eyes of the world. He is attempting to chip a tiny crack in the wall of hatred and fear that has grown between the peoples of our world. This place we live on looks like a big blue marble from space. But it is small. And very fragile.

I want to believe there are more righteous people in our world than not. And that they will stand up to people who kill, maim and terrorize in the name of God. There is no religion on this earth that believes in such a hateful and cruel deity. There is no religion that sanctions terrorism, no matter what the cause, whether it is the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland or the ubiquitous ‘Islamic terrorist’. Those who kill indiscriminately are committing evil, pure and simple. Evil is not pleasing to any God. But there are individuals, and groups of individuals, who are pure evil and who hide behind an excuse of religion in order to kill.

"Mutual respect" was what Mr. Obama called for in his speech. From a man whose father was Muslim. Mutual respect is the only path to peace.

I believe in a merciful and loving God. I pray that He will empower the hopeful to stand strong against evil. And that He will inspire the hateful with temperance and restraint.

Starting Over After a 'Good Guy'

My heart actually skipped a beat when Barack Obama was introduced at the inauguration on Tuesday. His dignity is so palpable. His demeanor was so suited to the occasion. His words offer such hope for a renewal of international respect for the United States. I am simply worn down by the way we are despised, in spite of the fact that it has frequently been for very good reason, the way our government has demonstrated whole sale arrogance and brute force over the past eight years.

I found it interesting that the day before the inauguration Obama remarked he thought George Bush was a ‘good guy’. I don’t know that on the surface I would disagree with him. Do I think George Bush would kick a puppy or drown a kitten? No, I don’t. Is he nice to his wife? I suspect he is. Is he good to his mother? Take one look at Barbara Bush and tell me what you think.

But I believe under his jocular, yuk-it-up, cowboy persona, there is a core of ignorance and smugness that is, in essence, evil. I came to this conclusion in March of 2004. And I will tell you why.

Every year, there is a dinner held by the White House press corps. The President traditionally takes good natured jabs and offers some of his own. In the past few years, they have used technology to create videos and slide shows with frequently hilarious results.

I saw the slide show that George Bush played at the dinner on March 4, 2004. I did not find it hilarious. Or even mildly amusing. As a matter of fact, it made me choke up and sick to my stomach. Because, at a time when 600 Americans had already died in Iraq, George W. Bush made JOKES about not having been able to find weapons of mass destruction. Jokes. He joked that the reason he destroyed the Iraqi country, caused the death of countless Iraqi innocents and sent American soldiers into harm’s way never existed. He joked about it.

Here is a clip from the dinner so you can see for yourself. It has been brilliantly augmented by Jason Woliner, someone who obviously was stricken by the same heartache as I was.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES.




This is what Hannah Arendt identified as the banality of evil. It looks so ordinary. There are no horns, forked tails or smells of sulpher.

But it is evil none the less.

As of this writing, 4, 229 U.S. Military have been killed in Iraq. That means more than eight thousand parents have lost their child. Thousands of spouses are now widowed. Children will never know their parent. Four thousand two hundred and twenty nine human beings are gone and we will never know what difference they would have made in this world.

Almost 100,000 Iraqis have died (although www.antiwar.com puts the figure at more than one million). Hundreds of troops from other countries have been lost. Because of advances in medical care on the battle field, more soldiers are saved than ever before. Which means more are coming home alive, but horribly maimed, missing limbs and blinded.

And while this is going on, George Bush was making jokes. No wonder we are hated.

Barack Obama has a monumental task in restoring our credibility and humanity to the world. God help him and God help us.

And I pray God has more mercy on George Bush’s soul than Bush has shown to our soldiers and the Iraqi people.

God Bless America

For the first time in a very long time, I am proud to be an American.

Barack Obama, with his dignity, intelligence and stature, will now be the face of leadership for the United States. A face that represents so much of our rich, cross-cultural society. A face that doesn’t wear a vacuous smirk. A face that reflects grave comprehension of the pain and fear our citizens are experiencing in these terrible times. A face that had no advantages apart from brains and democracy to lead him to the White House.

John McCain is clearly a good and brave man. As Obama said last night, McCain has experienced horrors that none of could us imagine and few of us could endure unscathed. McCain was gracious and generous in his concession speech, markedly exhibiting distaste and disapproval when some of his audience contemptuously booed at the mention of their new president’s name. I believe him in his pledge that he will do everything in his power to help Obama as he leads our country.

I want to believe McCain, because working together is the only way we are going to be able to move forward. Working together, our elected officials can restore the good name and credibility of the United States. Together they can create an effective machine of peace and a model of honorable and responsible leadership.

As Helen Keller once said (in my Quotes to the right), “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Together, we chose Barack Obama.

God bless America.